FIRST Minister Rhodri Morgan yesterday disowned a controversial pro-Labour website which portrayed rival party leaders as a clown and a vampire.

The video – in which Tory Assembly leader Nick Bourne is shown sporting fangs and Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones has a clown’s hat placed on his head was pulled on Monday evening.

The Aneurin Glyndwr website is backed by Peter Hain MP, Eluned Morgan MEP and Alun Davies AM and carried endorsements from Secretary of State Paul Murphy and Mr Morgan.

But a visibly irritated First Minister, sitting alongside the Plaid leader at an Assembly Government press conference, said: “Let’s be clear. There was no advance authorisation or awareness on my part or the Secretary of State’s part or the Labour Party in Wales’ part of the plans to develop this website – none whatsoever.”

On Aneurin Glyndwr, Mr Morgan was quoted as saying: “This brand-new political website is definitely one to watch!”

Yesterday, he denied that he had approved the content, saying: “Since I haven’t seen it or authorised it or had any foreknowledge of it, it is very, very naughty to imply that the content or style of it was in some way endorsed by me. It hasn’t [been], nor by the Secretary of State, nor by the Labour Party in Wales.”

He continued: “I’ve criticised the media for implying that I’m associated with its content. I am not associated with its content.

“That’s the end of the story as far as I’m concerned, OK? Least said, soonest mended.”

He said the individuals behind its creation should “live and learn”.

The images of the Plaid and Tory leaders appeared in a video to accompany a satirical version of the Tom Jones’ classic Delilah penned by Ms Morgan, who will step down as an MEP in June.

Deputy First Minister Mr Jones said the attention drawn to the website and the wider political storm over politicians’ expenses was bad for democracy.

He said: “The danger is that the whole body politic is being affected by it to make it very, very difficult to get policy messages across.”

Mr Jones believed it had to be made clear to party researchers what type of online activity was appropriate, saying: “I think there will have to be some kind of understanding of what is acceptable and what isn’t.”

The site is registered in the name of David Taylor, a researcher for Rhondda AM and Deputy Regeneration Minister Leighton Andrews.

Mr Morgan said its creators had been trying to emulate President Barack Obama’s successful use of the Internet during his election campaign.

He said: “The website was developed by a team of Labour supporters as a way of getting into new media engagement. [There was] a lot of excitement after the Obama election victory last year and everybody said, ‘Oh well, isn’t it brilliant the way they’ve done the new media engagement, the way they’ve got all these websites supporting Obama springing up from everywhere’ – so they had a go at doing it.

“We were not aware they were going to do it, didn’t approve the contents, weren’t even aware of the contents, style or anything whatsoever.”

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams said: “It’s not as if a local constituency party had come up with it or the youth or student faction had come up with it without letting the hierarchy know what’s going on, is it?”

He said: “Please do keep it up there. [It] really had me holding my sides in mirth so I really hope you will reconsider your decision to pull it.”

Mr Bourne last year apologised for a dossier on the First Minister which described him as the “clown prince of Wales”.

Labour’s Mr Davies defended Aneurin Glyndwr, saying: “It’s entirely different to the Rhodri dossier. The Rhodri dossier was an official document released by a political party.”

The Mid and West Wales AM was not involved in the decision to take down the video and insisted the website should not be seen as a “Government function”.

Mr Hain, Ms Morgan and Mr Taylor were unavailable for comment.

A message on the website states: “We have removed our Why, Why, Why? video from YouTube after we were informed that some Nats and Tories had complained. It’s a real shame that these sensitive souls are so easily offended, and find criticism so hard to take!

“C'est la vie, we think we got our message across.”

Mr Davies said: “The key thing now is it develops to be a positive and constructive contribution to the political debate in Wales.”

The furore surrounding the website demonstrates the challenge facing Labour and Plaid as the two parties seek to work together in Government while competing for seats in local, Westminster and European elections.

Mr Morgan said: “You may have a marriage in terms of a coalition but you have a partial divorce in terms of parties knocking six bells out of each other during election times. That’s something that you have to manage.

“Countries that are used to coalitions are used to that. We’re not used to it in Britain because we have very rarely, up until devolution, had coalitions...

“It’s quite tricky to [achieve] that partial divorce during election times and party conference season when the temperature inevitably rises.”

Mr Jones said he now grasped the importance of communicating clearly with coalition partners, Assembly groups, the wider party and the general public.

He said: “I think good, effective communication at each level is absolutely crucial, and that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned.”